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Texas man gets life sentence after 10th DWI

A Houston man whose brushes with the law include 10 arrests for drunk driving and a retaliation threat has been handed two life terms in prison.

Bobby Gene Martin, 64, was sentenced Wednesday by a Montgomery County jury, following prosecution of his 10th arrest on Aug. 8. The life sentences will run concurrently.

Montgomery County Assistant District Attorney Kyle Crowl told the Montgomery County Police Reporter that the jury didn't know Martin's lengthy arrest record until the punishment phase of the trial.

Jurors knew only that Martin had at least two prior DWI convictions and was charged with threatening to retaliate against the arresting deputy.

In this case, Martin threatened to kill not only the deputy who arrested him but also his wife, children and mother. During the arrest he told the deputy several times he was going to beat him up, the Police Reporter stated.

Martin will be 80 years old before he's eligible for parole, Crowl said.

According to online law enforcement records, Martin's DWI arrests date back at least to Jan. 16, 1981, when he was arrested in Harris County.

Other Harris County DWI arrests on Martin's record include incidents on Oct. 8, 1982; June 11, 1987; Aug. 27, 1996; and March 17, 2009.

According to the probable cause statement in the 2009 incident, Harris County Sheriff's Office deputies found Martin passed out inside his car, which was in a ditch with the motor still running at Van Hut Lane and Green River Road. He was leaning over, across the bench seat, records state.

The deputy eventually succeeded in waking Martin up, but he fell asleep again looking for his driver's license inside the car, according to the statement.

Unable to stand up, Martin had to be taken out on a stretcher, records state. He was taken to a hospital with a blood-alcohol content registered of 0.21, court records state.

According to the probable cause statement, Martin had seven prior convictions for DWI in March 2009.

Statewide online criminal records show that the Waller County Sheriff's Office arrested him twice in four months on DWI charges -- on Feb. 5 and June 16, 1982.